Een ochtend met de olifanten in Phuket Elephant Sanctuary

This was an experience that we will remember for many years. We were collected from our resort and taken to the sanctuary in Paklok, North East Phuket. A sumptuous breakfast was on offer, but it did'nt attract us as we had eaten at our hotel. Following an informative video which detailed why these Asian elephants need protection, we were taken on a guided walking tour of the sanctuary's tropical bushland, enabling our small group to have an up close experience with these beautiful animals. There is no riding, bathing or feeding of the elephants, making it a purely observational experience, which we thoroughly enjoyed. Our tour guide was able to provide details about each elephant. Watching the elephants from the overhead canopy walkway was a bonus. Our last stop was the sanctuary's elephant hospital, Phuket's first. There we saw a suspended elephant, being treated for a broken leg, and another being given antibiotics for septicaemia. The sanctuary purchases elephants which are sick, injured or have been abused or overworked. They will never return to their previous lives. At the conclusion of the tour we were returned to our resort. We will definitely return to the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary on our next Phuket holiday.

Overall, I don’t feel the experience was worth the price. You see maybe 10 elephants, but for each one, you essentially stand there for 15–25 minutes watching it stand around. There was also very little information provided beyond basic facts, such as the elephant’s age. After that, you continue walking, have lunch, and then wait for the shuttle back. The entire experience felt very slow, underwhelming, and honestly not very exciting. For the price you pay, I expected a much more engaging and informative experience. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t consider it worth the money.

Amazing experience this morning being shown round the sanctuary by our guide Ice Cream 🥰 she was very knowledgeable and looked after us all. Hearing about all the elephants stories and where they came from was very humbling. Would highly recommend this experience for anyone wanting to see elephants in a ethical way

Amazing and an absolute once in a lifetime experience.

Phuket Elephant Sanctuary was wonderful from beginning to end! 🐘💚 We were picked up and transported from our hotel to the sanctuary, and everything was very welcoming and well organized. Snacks and water were available when we arrived, which was a nice touch. Our tour guide, Ice Cream, was fantastic! She was friendly, bubbly, and very knowledgeable about the elephants and their stories. It was such a wonderful experience seeing these beautiful elephants and learning about the sanctuary and the opportunity it provides them. Lunch was wonderful, and they even have a cute little gift shop to visit before leaving. Overall, this was a truly memorable experience and one I would highly recommend to anyone visiting Phuket! 🐘🌿🇹🇭

Fantastic place and experience. Would certainly recommend for all. A must do if in the area.

I loved the experience and shout out to KT for being so kind and he is a lovely person

This was our second time to visit the Elephant Sanctuary, the last time was 2022 and there have been some additions since then with the nice new checkin area and the new Elephant Hospital. Its great to see the money from the tours being reinvested into the santuary. We had a nice tour with our Guide KT who showed use around the elephants roaming around taking their baths. Our pickup from the hotel was nice and smooth and overall we had a great day,

Picked up by a taxi from the company to our hotel. Once there, we were offered socks and boots. First we saw a video explaining the operation of the sanctuary of the ‘retired’ elephants. After an instructive walk between the elephants who each have their private companion and the good explanation of the guide, we were offered lunch. This one was vegetarian and tasty. Very friendly service at everything and very neat. A lovely place for the animals who really do what they love to do.

The best thing I could have chosen, I can say that seeing the elephants be themselves and be free was the best and I compare it because unfortunately I went to a sanctuary where you can bathe them, but there they give them the order to go to the water, to lie down, to get you wet etc, they follow instructions and in this Elephant Sanctuary, I could see that no one tells them what to do they choose and it was magnificent to see that the elephant submerges itself by choice that it wants to eat another elephant's food it was wow magnificent I recommend it much much more than the tours where you bathe with them. Due to time constraints I could not do the full tour which I think must be twice as wonderful